'Parks and Recreation' pushed to midseason on NBC

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The cast and crew of “Parks and Recreation” are filming the show’s third season now — but the results of their work won’t be seen until next year.

When NBC announced its schedule for the fall on Sunday (May 16), “Parks and Rec” wasn’t on it. The network is launching a new comedy called “Outsourced” with returning shows “Community,” “30 Rock” (which is moving to 8:30 p.m. from 9:30) and “The Office” and holding “Parks and Rec,” along with three more new comedies, “Friends with Benefits,” “The Paul Reiser Show” and “Perfect Couples,” for midseason.

“It was one of the toughest decisions we had to make” in putting the schedule together, NBC chairman Jeff Gaspin says. He adds that holding it is no comment on the quality of the show and says it will be back in the Thursday rotation later in the season.

“Parks and Rec” began work on its third season right after wrapping the second to accommodate star Amy Poehler‘s pregnancy. The decision to push the show back, however, isn’t related to that — NBC Entertainment president Angela Bromstad says the network asked the show to keep shooting to allow for “maximum flexibility” in putting together the schedule. “Parks and Rec” co-creator Mike Schuralso tweeted Sunday that “this is NOT because of Amy’s pregnancy.”

The show is filming six episodes for Season 3 before going on a production hiatus. Poehler and her husband, Will Arnett, are expecting their second child in the summer, and she’ll return to work following her maternity leave.

“Outsourced,” the show that’s replacing “Parks and Rec” in the Thursday comedy block in the fall, is about a middle manager (Ben Rappaport) who’s sent to India to train the new employees of his company’s call center.